This oblong indent in the grass of
the Lower Park is the remains of a long-gone farmstead.
Two farmsteads stood in what is now
the park during the 18th century. Both were owned by the lord of the
manor. One had been rented by the Ryland family of neighbouring Whitchurch for at
least two generations; the other was rented by the Simkins family. Both farmsteads were
demolished, probably c.1760. They
were in the way of James West's proposed park extension.
In fairness, both farms may have
been old and dilapidated. It seems John Simkins, the last of his family to farm
in the village, gave up farming around the 1740s and left the
farm, and there is no evidence the farm was subsequently occupied.
Farmer William Ryland's widow Mary
was granted the copyhold of their farm for her life, but relinquished
possession to James West in the 1750s in return for an annual sum of money. The farm was quickly demolished and the surrounding area landscaped. No evidence now remains of the existence of these farms except a few indents in the ground.
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